DIY Salt and Pepper Shaker Set

 DIY Salt and Pepper Shakers From Miniature Liquor Bottles

Hey guys if you have ever wanted to diy a unique set of salt and pepper shakers? These are adorable…and can make great handmade gifts too! If you’re a collector of little glass bottles this is the perfect way to repurpose them with panache!

A couple of years ago I made a set of salt and pepper shakers using a couple of small 2 oz Jack Daniels whiskey bottles and gifted them to my husband’s uncle for Christmas. He loved them! Now that’s a really good man cave gift idea, if you’re thinking about it.

I used what they call the “sleeping pill” size which is like 4 oz or something. If you want to make your own salt and pepper shakers this way, those cute little liquor bottles served on airplanes would work well…They are usually made of plastic; I used a bunch of them to make this cool party light set.

I prefer glass and for that you have to get those “sleeping pill” sizes, as the miniature airplane or mini-bar ones are usually plastic.

I’m demo-ing using a pair of Jaeger bottles for this salt and pepper set.

Materials List

2 small matching bottles

Cordless drill and very small bits

Toothpicks

Optional: Mod Podge

Disclaimer: You don’t actually have to go to a liquor store; you can probably find small liquor bottles at your nearest thrift or antique store. A lot of people treat these as “vintage collectibles” so they should be easy to find.

I don’t want to encourage anyone to drink to do this craft hehehe. Oh yeah, little teeny airport and travel size bottles such as those that hold shampoo or mouthwash, would also work great!

Let’s Do This: How To DIY These Cute Salt and Pepper Shakers!

1. Step one….Wash out your empty bottles. Whether or not you want to keep the labels on is up to you; I wanted to preserve mine so I applied a coat of Mod Podge to both the front and back labels of my Jaeger bottles. If you want to remove them this post has some good advice for getting them off easily!

2. Unscrew the caps and check for one of those little protective papery liners. You can easily pry them out using a flat head screwdriver or nail file. As an optional tip, if you want to give these as gifts keep the liners (if you got them out cleanly) and after you fill up the shakers you can replace them to keep the salt and pepper from leaking out.

3. You’re going to probably need a good workstation setup. I’m using these blocks of wood here…This is a good idea if you don’t have one of those “workhorses” to keep your objects from moving around.

Using the tiniest drill bit you have on hand, make about 5-6 little holes in the middle of each bottle cap. I would use the 1.98 mm or 1.58 mm as they are the smallest in my collection.

4. Using a toothpick, run it through the little holes to give them a little definition. If the caps are plastic there may be some plastic dust pieces coming out…you will want to blow them off. (Canned air works well)

If your caps are metal (like mine) there isn’t much dust – but on the other side of the caps the holes you just made may be a little sharp and raw looking.

Turn them over and use something like an emery board to file them down.

5. Wash your bottles out again (with the caps on) so you won’t have any remaining plastic dust or metal pieces left behind that could get into the actual salt and pepper. Let them dry before filling them.

Planning to give these as gifts? You can fill them with salt and pepper to be extra nice ?? You may want to put the paper insert back under the caps so the ingredients won’t spill out, or if you lost the inserts, a piece of Saran wrap will work like a charm.

I eventually gifted the Jaeger shakers to my niece for Christmas 2018 – she thought they were cool -this is the set I made to keep for myself ?? Pretty much followed the same steps above , except I only put about three holes in the lids.

Hey that was fun wasn’t it? If you’ve got a bigger bottle collection, make several sets like this and give them as gifts! And keep one for yourself like I did – this is a great idea to add a little flair to your barware, kitchen and dining accessory collection!

Maybe Just One More Fluid Painting (A String Pull)

 Hi all, no surprise that before the paint is dry on my other work, woukn't you know I'd be thinking about producing another, this time I'm doing a very unique and innovative technique that only looks hard - the "string pull" method.

This si a great technique to try if you are looking to do a paint pouor that uses less paint. You know you can runthrough a lot of apint while doing this and it's messy as all get out. But this approach is totally different. This is also a good technique to try if you are intrigued by work with a lot fo negative space in it. 

I decided to try this because after I hung up my work from the last session, I felt like it needed a little something more, two little 8 x 10's needed a third to get the "right" loook. I'm going to make the color scheme the same too. so all three will look very much in sync together. Which means I am going to mix up the same colors .

So to get started, you need a canvas, the painting medium, 4-5 colrors, water, and of course, some string.

After you have mixed your colors, medium and water  (refer back to here to get the whole methodology of mixing)

Apply a primer base coat to your canvas. Now in videos I've seen most people do a basic white or black. I am not a fan of stark black or white backgrounds. Nothing wrong with that, you do what you liek best, but I'm goind to make it more of a light blue. So I'm mixing in a tiny amount with my white base coat.

Now take out some wax paper and bab out a little bit of each color in a row, kind of line them up side by side, it will form a pattern. You can also repeat the alternating color pattern if you like and you want your design to be more colorful.

Dip  your string into the paint, try to get it mixed into all of those colors as much as you can. (Wearing gloves might be a good idea for this)

Arrange your string on the canvas, try to center it if you can and also try to form a pattern kind of loopy looking, like I'm goind.

Now slowly, very slowly, pull the string from the bottom. You will see the way the pattern develops and hwo it takes on a floral shape.Repeat this string on canvas and gentle pull motion for as many "flowers" as you like  Wal-la!

I've also seen people do this with a ball chain as well. I thought about trying that but I don't have any that aren't part of a necklace I wear already. We'll see! What did you think of this?This is the string pull tehnique! Looks hard but it's not!

DIY Light Up Sign With Christmas Lights

 Learn how to make an AWESOME lighted sign with Christmas lights and delight your friends and guests when they come to visit! Now if you are like me and put off by the technical aspects of lighting such as wiring, positive to negative blah,blah,blah, well you are going to LOVE this approach!

Other than what I needed to know to assemble the wiring from the kit I needed for my mason jar lamp, I don’t mess around with something that has the power to well, shock you…However this project will, in a good way!

Long story short, I used to have one of those light-up vintage clocks with a soda ad company name on it, but unfortunately the light burned out and I had no idea how to replace it, since it called for a fluorescent tube (?). Somehow I rigged it up with a set of midget sized Christmas lights and voila….Wow, what a fix that was!

Then I decided to create a sign of my own using this same technique. I loved it, and I think you will, too!

Materials Needed

It took me about three days tops to make this sign. First things first, the lights. Seasonal timing affects their availability; they tend to be plentiful on shelves during the fall months and nonexistent the rest of the year. They also should be midget-sized, clear, and between 15 and 25 lights on the string will give the best effect.

Sometimes  I’ve gotten the battery-operated type, but they’re usually less reliable.

Other items include: A small box of your choosing (a cardboard shoebox would work great!) A sheet of clear plastic or cellophane, x-acto knife, paint and glue.. Optional -some markers would be helpful.

Making the Design For Your Light-Up Sign

First…decide on your design – will it be a single word, or a simple image? Here is my box from the start, I decided on a homemade “exit” sign for fun, just like the kind you see in public venues.

Tip: Choose a simple word design like this -“Love” and “Joy” would qualify here; or if you happen to have a short nickname or name period, would be a great idea for your design.

Don’t think you have to use a word, you can come up with something like a star, heart, moon, your first initial, family surname initial, etc. Just make the design simple and sweet so it will be easier to handle when cutting early on.

Want a clever hack to craft a word? Check these signs out below I found on Instructables; the talented person who made these used a program like Word to create the design, chose a font and blew up the size real big .Image credit: Creativeman

I LOVE these signs…they’re AWESOME…too bad I didn’t find this method until AFTER I made my own sign? I think I am going to make another one, though, in the future with this approach when I get a chance!

Get your ruler and use it to mark where the word/design needs to be centered before starting them. Use an x-acto knife to cut out the letters.

It may look a little crude here, but I was willing to allow for marker error since I planned to paint it. I spray painted the box with black spray paint. Your box may have writing on it most likely, so after cutting your design would be a good time to paint it.

Now take your sheet of cellophane and place it over the design’s outline, like this. Apply a bead of glue around the perimeter of the sheet so it won’t seep out around the design cutout; press in place.

making a lighted sign

I carefully glued down a green tissue paper sheet (Also letting these two sit for awhile so they would not buckle). If you have access to colored cellophane,you can use that in place of colored tissue paper. I just kinda had to make do at the moment ??

make light up sign christmas lights

Let the whole thing dry for now, preferably overnight. We’ll get to those lights next!

How To Attach the Lights

So on to the midget light strand! I used a piece of thick foam poster board inside the box to have a place for the lights to be arranged on. I encourage you to do the same , just get some of that type of board and cut it to the width/length of your box. We will need this to secure the string so when the box is sitting upright the lights won’t roll around.

Your string of lights need to be “distributed” in a special way so they will not end up falling into a clump at the bottom.

To do this part I used a drill and made small holes at the corners. I wound the light string in a circle and secured three areas with twist ties. Then I pushed the board piece down. I made sure to carefully spread each light out …when done right, no one will know that’s Christmas lights in there!

Cut a notch on the side of the foam board (there is also a notch at the back of the shoebox too for the cord to thread through)

You know what’s coming…close up the box (the piece of board is pretty taut so it will stay in place on its own) and plug it in.

Time to Test Out Your Light-Up Sign!

Pretty awesome right? And you didn’t have to fool around with unfamiliar tools either. Just a regular old strand of midget lights! It was just as much fun as my party light strand here.

Oh, by the way, check out what this gal did…Very impressive! She pretty much created an exit sign just like mine but with a different approach (sounds easier I have to admit) and it became a nightlight for her son’s room…how cool is that?

(It looks like I may need to get out more and go to some yard sales, lol)

Now you know how to make a gorgeous lighted sign with Christmas lights, get busy and light up your living area now!

Turning 2 Sculptures Into Bookend Set

 Sculpey strikes again! THis time I took 2 figurines I've made from the magic sculpting compound and transofmred them into a set of bookends....

Built upon a base of flat rocks. Which are not easy to find.

Be sure to stick moleskin pads on the bottom so they don't scratch. Enjoy!

A Stud Earring Holder....From a CANVAS

 Make a diy stud earring holder and get those little buggers together! If you’ve got a lot of little bitty post earrings you know as well as I do how frustrating it can be to find just the pair you want when you’re getting ready in the morning.

Or maybe you are just fed up with them and their respective mates getting separated easily?

OR..is your story mostly like mine…you don’t even wear post earrings anymore for whatever reason maybe they’re not hypoallergenic which you need if you’re going to wear them, but your collection is too cute to just throw away..in other words, you want to give them an upcycle makeover.

Well, now we can stop the madness…

We’re going to discuss how to create a very special space for them all and make them easy to find when you want a specific pair and we’re going to do better than that – we’re going to make it pretty too!

DIY Stud Earring Organizer Materials List

Post/stud type earrings present a special challenge….because of their design, what the heck are you supposed to attach them to so they will stay on? Unlike the dangly/wire kind of earring, they can’t stay on a grid or something without falling off (duh!) Well have no fear, because I’m about to spill the beans on  some ideas. Update: I did end up making a holder for my dangly earrings, too!

You just need to find some material that has a tight weave to it….It can be burlap, it can be wire mesh if it’s got teeny tiny openings (like window screen) and a type that doesn’t have too much slack in it so when it is secured down it should be nice and tight.

Canvas or burlap are two materials that definitely fit the bill here. Another material that would work very well, it’s not fabric but it would work well, is some corkboard.Guess what I’m using for mine? (Wait for it…) That’s right….I’m using an actual ARTIST CANVAS!!

Suggested materials for the backdrop that you’ll attach the material to:

A nice, attractive picture frame, it can be one you own or an unfinished pre-formed frame. It can be any size you want, depending on how many earrings you need to get together!

Another cool idea is one of those round embroidery hoops. I’ve never used one but it would work great for this!

How to DIY This Earring Holder

An art canvas – now that’s quite the hack!Yep, that’s right, just like the ones I paint on. Think canvases are just for painting? Think again!

I didn’t have to do any pre-drilling of holes or anything – the earrings just pushed right on through. Canvases are strong, but don’t think they are invincible:)

Feel free to steal this one! A small canvas about 11 by 14 or so is all you need, paint and bling it up to your liking.

The only negative I can see, is that my canvas idea may be a tad prohibitive….I understand as I made this to display my collection (I don’t wear these)…The corkboard and tight mesh may suit your needs better.

Assuming you are wanting to use the materials in the list above,and a frame, here’s how to proceed:

First…paint your frame in the color of your choice, if you’ve got an unfinished one and want to make it look a little nicer. Oh, and I just wanted to share my video of this project right quick (Sorry I know it’s a little shaky)

Lay the mesh materials on the back of the frame of choice to determine where to trim it to shape. ( You may want to mark the perimeter with a pencil )

Use  a sharp trimming tool such as an X-acto knife or a box cutter, to trim around the perimeter of the material.

Get some craft glue and squirt out a ribbon around the edge of the frame on the back…Carefully place your cut material down on  the back of the frame.

Let it set up and cure for a few days before you start attaching your earrings to it.

Hanging Your Finished Holder

Now you’re going to need to attach a wire hanger to the back for easy hanging in whatever location you’ve chosen. Need a little assistance with that part? The first few instructions in this post will help with that. You should be all set!

Now you can enjoy your earring collection at easy reach, or just fun display! Hard to believe I once kept all mine in a jewelry box, but they just become one big messy clump.   As you know anything that is that small has a big capability to end up getting lost!

I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I love my canvas idea if I do say so myself…it just came out of nowhere one day ??  Post earrings, haven;t worn much lately, too pretty to give away, a recipe for – fun!

Well, there you have it, guys, this is the way to make a gorgeous diy stud earring holder for your collection! Hang it in the boudoir, bathroom,

My First Official Paint Pour...

 Today I'll be "Doing a paint pour" Oh you're gonna LOVE this! it's messy, but totally worth it. Now is the time to dig in if you haven't already. I'm titling this post acrylic pour painting for beginners. It's going to be an introduction to one of the hottest art trends going on today.

And yes, I am a little late to the party. Guilty as charged.

And yes, this is embrassing to admit, but I only found out about this technique from a few comments on here and from visiting Pinterst. Yep, that's right! Well, since the pandemic started, I honestly can't say it's been easy to discover new art trends socially as it once was. Hopefully some of you can relate. Anyway, moving on...

Have you ever heard of "pour painting", also known as "painting pours" or "fluid painting"? and wanted to learn all about it, and maybe try your hand at it? Great, me too! Are you intrigued by the look of abstract art and wanting to get in on this hot trend? Check!

I must confess, I am totally lousy at abstract art. I just can't get a handle on it. It is almost as if I am not wired for it at all. After all, I studied under "old school" instructors in which above all else, you almost have to become wedded to your subject matter to paint it accurately. It's easy for me to know what I need to do to complete work in the ultra-reliast style, but if I am working in an abstract style I have no idea. Frustrating. Oh well. The good news is that I think learning fluid painting may be the answer I've been hoping for! I've scoured as many articles and how-to's as I can and even without taking a single class, I think I can do this. But since this will be my first official "pilot" fluid painting, I'm keeping a log on this post bit by bit to show you how things will unfold. Ok, let's begin with the necessary materials!

To do this you will need:

Tools and Materials:

• Painting medium (Floetrol is the most popular)
• Paints
• Silicone oil (but I am experimenting with WD-40 and 3 in one all purpose oil for household use)
• Some disposable cups, 
• something to stir the paint around with (e.g. popsicle sticks)
• A canvas
• Something to prop your canvas up (can be pushpins or more Dixie cups)
• Something to protect your work surface with like newspapaers

First off, one afternoon, my boyfriend and I were shopping at AceHardware  for some supplies for our backyard garden, and the thought toccured to me to check up on a product called "Floetrol" I was kind of bone-headed when I asked the sales associate about it as I couldn't relly say the name correctly until I pulled it up on my phone. Floetrol (also known by the brand name "Flood" is a product used to mix with acrylic paints to improve their consistency. This is the first thing you need - a painting "medium" with which you will miix with your paints so they will flow on the canvas easily to create the intresting patterns. Liquitex has a proprietary brand of their own as well, the main thing is it has to be acetone based  Although you can thin acrylic paint with water, you have to be mindful of how much you add to it as you run the risk of de-pigmenting the vibrant colors. A good painting medium will offset this.

I have also heard that you can assemble your own painting medium using a combo of Mod Podge and water. Sounds just like my recipe here if not identical! If you're starting out on the cheap or you can't get out much and yuou have to use what you have on hand you might consider this. I do want to stress that it may work well, but long term the results may not be archival quality. So it depends on what your goals are.

Anyway, you can buy a product like Floetrol at most home imporvement stores (or online if stock is low). It comes in a quart sized bottle.

I have decided that I am going to use the acetone product that I found in my collection of paints that was made to be used with my enamel (glass ) acrylics. Call me cheap but I don't see why you should spend money on something if you can find what you need in your very own closet or pantry that will do the job you need. Can I get an 'amen"?

The second thing you ned...Silicone oil. This product will help create the "cells" in the final pour apinting. Now I am in a quandary about this, just out of curiosity I checked under the kitchen sink where I keep all my cleaning/household supplies and found a bottle of "3 in 1 multipurpose oil" (made by the same company that also makes WD-40.) I got online ad did some poking around trying to find out if this oil I found would be as effective as silicone oil , it was hard to get good answers, even read reviews on Amazon to see if any customers used 3 in 1 for fluid painting. Uh...no. Refer to my above argument. Sometimes you are just on your own about these things.

The paints...

The good news is you can use any of your acrylic paints you want..the trick will be choosing the right combination of colors so you get the right effect. The wrong color combo, you could end up with a muddy looking owrk of art, or too washed out. I love warm tones with lots of orange so I am going to stick to that. ALso, if you decide to include black in your scheme, do so very very sparingly. A little will go along way. I rarely use black when I paint, period. You can even use metallics or neon colors if you want as long as you choose colors that work together. 

You'll need a handful of disposable cups...one for each color (about 4-5), and some sticks for stirring, like popsicle sticks or coffee stirrers.

A canvas...doesn't matter the type. 

Tip: If you can, start with a small canvas (about 11 x 14 or similar) and a roasting pan (which are usually about that big or a little larger, ) as these are usually about the right size to catch apint drips.

And be sure you protect your workspace as things are about to get messy. You're probably going to spill some paint so put down newspapers or one of those disposable plastic tablecloths.

1. Start by pouring a small amount of the first colro into one of your cups. Add a similar amount of your medium and stir together.

Repeat with the other colors.

Prep your canvas first....Use thumbtacks on the bottom so the canvas will be propped up a little which will minimize runoff.

First off you can pour the paint directly from the cup, or tip the cup over, and follow up with the others

Or you can drip each color down in patterns like I have done here (you may want to alternate the different colors)

, 

Now take the canvas and move it around slightly, let the paint run in all directions, you may want to limit how much you do this but keep moving the canvas around until there are no white spots showing. To-da!  Do you notice any cells forming? This are spots that look especially photogenic with gaps of color that resemble bubbles oof soap.  Sometimes it happesn sometimes it doesn't

 Time to admire your work!

ANd if you have any messy drips left behind (most likely y ou'll have some) take your other canvas and push it face down into the paint drips left over to create ANOTHER piece fo artwork....

Can you paint pour over a paint pour that's messed up?

I'd be lying if I told you every paint project will go right 100% of the time.

And so it is, and was, with me.If you will recall from my previous post, I had just completed my first official paint pour. I was over the moon. Until I opened the door to the closet that I had it carefully placed so it could dry.  What I saw was ...There was no words. Just cue the scratching record sound right about now.

Much to my consternation I saw one of my old paintings had fallen face down on top of my freshly painted fluid painting! How could this have happened??!!?? My work of art was ruined! And what are the odds of something like a painting that was just casually stuck behind it actually falling on a wet painting and ruining it? Man, the art gods must have had it out for me that night.

I probably said a few cuss words and stuff I wouldn't post here....But then I realized, we;re all adults here adn we don't cry over spilled milk or paint. After I peeled off the fofending painting that had spoiled everything, I was ready to trash it out of spite. It was mediocre, anyway.

I got one of my palette knives and proceeded to scrape off the "damaged" area of my new fluid painting.Some residual color had remained on the canvas. 

I remember that I did all my paint mixing ins trategically used containers with lids so I had paint already left over that I could use to redo the damage. Then I- you guessed it...proceeded to re-pour. I knew it would not look just like the original but I did my best. Just as a point of comparison, here is the original work:

And after all is said adn done, here is the re-done piece:

So YES, you can pour paint over a paint pour. If you happen to have my bad luck that day, or if you're unsaitisfied iwth something, or just plain goof on one spot. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Get to it quickly....the drying time is a factor. I also did a small version of this one on an 8 x 10 size canvas and it was already dry in a matter of hours. WHo knows? Of course, I did not touch it. I can tell when paint is wet in some areas by its glossy appearance.

When you scrape paint off the canvas discard the pieces in the trash, don't try to rinse it down the sink.

Redoing a painting that you "goof" on, or you're just disatisfied with, is more cost effective. I've painted over canvasses plenty of times over buying new ones and starting from square one.  Usually I'll just apply a coat of white gesso to it and start over. Of course, you won't need to do that with a paint pour.

If the paint is semi-moist, scrape it off using your palette knife. Best to get to it as quickly as possible to make this easier.

Full Disclaimer: SInce I have only got 2 paint pours under my belt, I can't call myself an expert (yet.) But I can tell youwhat I know about acrylic paint in general from lifelong experience as this subject relates to paint composition.

Acrylic paint tends to contract as it dries, the top layer if it is thicker develops a type of "skin" over the bottom layer due to the presence of polymer binders., also water evaporates naturally as it dries. So if you are going to re-pour a piece of work that has dried, be sure to wait until it has "cured" which can take as long as two weeks.  There's "dry" on a superficial level and then there's "cured" meaning ALL of the layers of paint have adequately dried not just one layer.

Good luck to you and let meknow how it goes!

DIY Ring Holder

 Making this cool ring holder form Sculpey....Whatdaya think??

I always loved that mannequin hand like the kind you see at jewelry shops used to display rings and other jewelry. They are usually made form some kind of hard plastic. If I'd had something like resin I coulda done that, but I use polymer clay instead.

I have made one out of Sculpey Light...trouble is it doesn't have enough weight to it. So I would use Sculpey Original instead. If you like colors you can use those too, but you may not be able to find them in bulk sizes which you'll need , each small brick is 2 oz, and it may take at lest 5 of them to be viable.

So best to get Original (white) and paint it later. 

But it turned out great (I painted it green gold)...And it holds all my rings.

The Dirty Pour Technique

 Doing one of those "paint pours" you've probably heard of....What is the "dirty pour" you may ask?

This is a very popular approach to painting pours that involves mixing all of the colors then pouring them all into the same cup in layers. Due tot he addition of oil, the different color layers will sit on top of each other. 

Be sure you have all of your matorrals before getting started, refer to my list here for some good ideas about substitutes for things that are less expensive.

Now we are going to choose our color palette and start missing our colors. Since I am creating this work specifically to hang in the master bedroom which has lots of cool tones (the walls are a light purple/blue color) I have chosen "cool"" colors like green, blue, and purple. I also thought I would aadd a little metallic balck for good measure. Yes you can add metallic or gold paint too, it will add a nice classy look. 

This post goes into depth into mixing the colors with the apinting medium and oil.Be sure your work space is well protected with newspapers and something plastic to catch the drips

You can see where I have got my notes ready.....

Now we're going to pour all of the colors into one cup but to do this we'll tilt the cup at a angle and pour the colors at such an angle that it will run down the sides and the colors should form a layer without mixing into each other (you definitely do not want that)

Prepare your canvas with thumbtacks on each bottom corner to prop it up and allow the paint to go over the edges. Set it (while still upside down) on top of the cup. Now being careful to hold the cup and the canvas simultaneously, (hold them tightly) and flip them over at the same time.

Remove the cup slowly from the canvas....

and you should have a puddle of color in the middle. Let it flow now, but tilt it in different directions to get the effect you like.

Voila!

Now you have performed the "dirty pour" technique.